Living With The Lab: Update On The Second Year Of Full Implementation For Over 400 First Year Engineering Students

Abstract

Two years ago a robotics-centered sequence of three first-year engineering courses was expanded to include all beginning engineering students as part of an NSF CCLI grant. The objective of this course sequence is to immerse students in a skill-based, project-driven curriculum that builds creativity and a can-do spirit. Students purchase a Parallax BASIC Stamp controller, sensors, servos, and software to provide the basis for a mobile laboratory and design platform; this mobile platform, which is owned and maintained by the students, provides a mechanism for boosting experiential learning to a level that would be difficult to achieve using university-owned equipment and supplies. We call our educational approach "Living with the Lab."